The manor was quiet when Aegis finally got back, which was nice. She needed a minute.
She walked through the entrance hall, past the sitting room where Scarlett was loudly recounting the ceremony to anyone who would listen ("and then she just WALKS UP and says 'I object' like it's NOTHING"), past the study where Evelyn was probably already organizing paperwork, and into her private chambers.
Then she sat down in her favorite chair, crossed her legs, and let out a breath she felt like she'd been holding for about six hours.
[I can't believe that actually worked.]
She'd walked into a royal betrothal ceremony uninvited, invoked an obscure legal right that most people had forgotten existed, given a speech in front of every noble in Valdria, and somehow walked out with official status as an alternative marriage candidate for royalty.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
